Thanks for letting me know that the megaE stuff doesn't fit with him.
That is a relief.
 
His problems have been spread out over a long enough time that i am
having trouble remembering the specifics.  I suspect that others who
are on multiple lists may also be having that problem.
 
Could you recap his symptoms, the timing, what tests have been done
(blood tests, ultrasound, etc)?
 
Has a Complete CBC with Blood Chemistry been done?  If not, then it
IS important that you know that his liver enzymes likely will be off.
 
Why?
 
*****Ferrets have liver changes with swelling that can happen with too
little nutrition, too infrequent nutrition, or inability to use that
nutrition, and these change the results of liver blood tests.*****
 
There is a GREAT explanation of this in Dr. Bruce William's AFIP
site.  I hope that the site is repaired and up, but if not you can
use a VERY USEFUL trick for finding cached articles that Pam Sessoms
(Thanks again, Pam!) recently taught many of us at
http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=4134
and
http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=4135
 
Here is the URL:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html (general address because
something there may strike a chord for you)
and specifically:
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/Clin_Path/ClinPath.html
titled "Controversy and Confusion in Interpretation of Ferret Clinical
Pathology"
 
You have to go down a while in it till you get to the part that starts
"The Chemistry Profile"
 
Tidbits:
>obligate carnivore... requires meals as often as every four to six hours...
>Should food not be available, it possesses the ability to quickly
>mobilize peripheral fat stores in order to meet energy requirements.
>When this physiologic mechanism is activated, the liver is literally
>flooded with fat, which results in hepatocellular swelling which may
>be marked.  The result of this swelling is the leakage of membrane
>enzymes... as the hepatocellular swelling increases, occlusion of bile
>canaliculi occurs, resulting, over time, in elevation of alkaline
>phosphatase....
>
>The diagnosis of hepatic disease in the ferret must be based not
>only on ALT and alkaline phosphatase, but other clinical indicators
>in the CBC and chem panel. Clinical elevation of icterus or an
>elevated bilirubin is an excellent indicatior of primary hepatic
>disease, or concomitant leukocytosis or pyrexia may lend additional
>credence to a diagnosis of primary hepatic disease.
 
Here are some more places that may be able to help you:
http://www.ferretcongress.org/ (Critical References)
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
 
Your vet will likely want copies of some of the things you will find with
these assorted URLs that have been written by ferret specialist vets and
ferret specialist vet pathologist.  There is nothing like going to the
folks who are experts with advanced degrees in their chosen focus to
know what is what, so these may well be useful for you.
[Posted in FML issue 4127]